Au pair life is cool

I have been an au pair little bit more than one year. From beginning I knew it is not my dream job, but work that will enrich my life. Honestly - this job is not for everyone. You need strong will, perseverance, positive attitude towards children, be independent, friendly, honest and flexible. It doesn´t matter if you are missing any of those mentioned properties - au pair life will teach you :-)

I found this picture recently. When I was looking at that, I made an idea for new post in my head. Through the picture I want to introduce my au pair life.

DARE TO!

Until this time I hadn´t any experiences with au pair job or with United States. I have some friends who worked as an au pair. I heard their stories and advices, but it just was not enough. I wanted to know more! The biggest helpers in information research were Google and Facebook. Why these two? Uncle Google (as we called him at university) knows everything and on Facebook I found plenty au pair groups, where another au pairs share their experiences. 

After reading few articles, I was decided to go. The easiest way, how to get this job in dream country, led through the agency! I had to pay mediation  fee ($ 600 - $ 800 depending on the agency), but I do not regret. For this fee the agency solved everything ... from visas, insurance, air tickets, pick up at JFK to transport to my host family.

I took my time to find right family (you don´t hurry too). I always had in my mind that it´s gonna be my year. I thought out  all + and - for each family. Matching process was not easy. Sometimes it seemed to me tedious. I know girls who said "yes" to the first family, but also those girls who waited for 20th or 37th family. I waited and said "yes" to my 7th family. It´s hard to say, how to choose a right family, but I followed my intuition. I just felt that this family gonna be good for me. After a time it became true, my intuition was right. 

TRAVEL!

Under US law entitle me at least one free weekend during a month and 14 days paid vacation during the year. All au pairs have the same rule. What did I do whit this free time? I´ve traveled! It´s the perfect oportunity to travel and explore other places. 

During the year I learned how to don´t spend money on stupid things and plan my trips well. Due to my weekend off and vacations (not just mine, but also the family) I have visited many places and cities - Washington DC, Philadelpia, Atlantic City, Jersey City, Boston, Fort Lauderdale, LA, San Diego, Chicago, Lake Placid, Miami, Nantucket, Niagara etc. Even now I can not wait for the next trip!

LEARN!

I went to America, because I wanted to improve my English skills. I knew English, but not well enough to write email or have a call without using a dictionary. Today I manage all these without problems. Well, how did I achieve it?

• Due to the agency rules I received $ 500 for school from the host family. I used this money to pay my English courses and not another classes.

• In next step I signed up at the library. Besides books, magazines and movies library offers free ESL classes with profesional teachers. This classes I attended at the begining and help me so much. 

• Every day I´m watching movies, series or fairytales with kids on Netflix, Amazon TV, ...

•  I write my experiences in scrapbook, travel journal or blog. 

• I go out with my friends very often and I´m not affraid to talk to them. I know, I do mistakes, but nobody care. On the contrary, they support me and repair me :-)

EXPLORE!

Life in host family spreads my knowledge about other cultures and customs. I was a little shocked from beginning - you will be too. Food, family habits, cultural etiquette or television are differen from what you have been used to all my life. Even now, after 

a year, I don´t regret my decision. Believe me you will like it. 

DREAM!

Everyone had own dreams and ideas. I have my own too. At the very beginning I created my wish list of places and experiences I would like to see, visit or experience. Almost every day, I think about ways to reach my dreams. I plan carefully. The path to success is never easy, but I believe I will achieve my dreams.

GROW!

Au pair job had helped me to gain my professional skills. I am not ashame for this job.  On the contrary, it is a big plus in my resume, which a lot of future employers will appreciate. Just my courage to move abroad and work in a foreign country shows my sense of courage and risk. Due to life in a foreign country, I gained the ability to adapt to the new place. I have eliminated the language barriers, learned to work with people from different cultures, improved in time management, conglict resolution etc. Maybe this work will open my door to a dream job. Who knows, maybe I choose to travel around the world and visit places that I haven´t missed visit during my au pair career. Let´s see ... everything is still up in the air.  

Be an au pair !

The best way how to combine work, study, travel and entertainment.